


Inside and Outside the Box

by mcgarrygirl78



Series: Starting Over [25]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Drama, F/M, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-25
Updated: 2012-08-25
Packaged: 2017-11-12 20:56:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/495567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Beth might have to blow his mind to make him focus.  She was a talented woman…it could be done.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Inside and Outside the Box

**Author's Note:**

> The beginning was in my head for days. The characters told me the rest when I finally started writing. I still love this ship something crazy.

“I can do this.”

“I never said you couldn’t do it. I just said that I’m calling a plumber in the morning.”

“That’s going to cost a ridiculous amount of money and it doesn’t have to.” Hotch took off his tie and started unbuttoning his dress shirt.

“I'm not doubting you Aaron…”

“She says in that completely doubting me voice.”

“Are you sure about this?”

“I'm sure.” Hotch nodded. He took his shirt off, put it over the dining room chair. Then he pulled his Hanes tee shirt out of his pants.

“And you're getting naked why…?”

“You don’t usually complain about that.”

Beth smiled and her dimples showed. That made Hotch smile. He wrapped his arms around her, kissing her nose and then her lips.

“I’ll at least have a look sweetheart. It’s possible that I can't fix it but I would feel more comfortable checking first before some plumber tries to overcharge you.”

“If you're sure then OK.” Beth nodded. “Have a look.”

“Thank you.”

“Here's a kiss for good luck.”

Hotch grinned as they kissed. It made him want to forget about the clogged garbage disposal and slow draining sink altogether. Beth sensed it and moved out of his arms. He went over and opened the cabinet under the sink. Moving the kitchen cleaners and putting them on top of the counter, he lay on his back and grabbed the wrench that lay beside him. Beth’s dog, Nelle, came and walked over his chest. The small, mixed breed mutt sat right on his collarbone.

“Beth, get the dog.” He said.

“She just wants to help.”

“Nelle, Nelle get. I'm having a little difficulty breathing over here.”

The dog barked and got off of Hotch’s chest. She sat beside him and watched the whole thing unfold. Hotch finally got the pipe apart, looking at the gunk inside.

“What the…?”

“What did you find?”

“I have no idea but this is disgusting.”

“I tried to clean out the garbage disposal but I was afraid of being electrocuted. I did plunge the hell out of the sink but the water kept going down really slow.”

“The pipe is definitely clogged. There's a lot of grease and muck and it’s…oh God, it’s smelly.” Hotch started putting the pipe back together. Gunk oozed out, getting on his hands and tee shirt. He shivered because it was disgusting. “You're going to have to call a plumber.”

“And you're definitely going to have to wash that tee shirt.” She couldn’t help but laugh.

“Oh no, I think I can just throw this one out. I've got plenty where it came from.”

He got up from the floor, immediately going to wash his hands. Nelle began to investigate the now open and empty cabinet.

“Nellie, no.” Beth shooed her away. She ran and jumped on the couch. “Can we go to dinner now?”

“Just let me freshen up and then we’ll be off. You're going to call a plumber in the morning?”

“Yes Agent Hotchner.” She nodded and smiled. “And I’ll give you another kiss for your valiant efforts as soon as you clean up. You smell like…I don’t even know what you smell like.”

“Thanks.” He headed for the stairs. “I’ll be right back.”

Up in the master bathroom, Hotch rinsed the gunk off his shirt before gingering lifting it over his head. He went under the sink to grab one of the plastic bags Beth kept in there. The small trashcan was in his way so he picked it up. It slipped out of his grip and spilled onto the floor. Hotch scowled, rolling his eyes as he kneeled to clean up the mess. 

It was Beth’s intimate trashcan; no man’s land. Thankfully it was virtually empty except for a couple of wads of toilet tissue and a small box. It was a small EPT box. He gasped when he saw it, immediately dropping it back in the can as if it was on fire. His hands shook as he grabbed a plastic bag, wrapped his shirt in it, and put the can back where it belonged. 

Hotch washed his hands again, turned off the light and left the room. He sat down on the bed just holding the bag in his hand. There was a pregnancy test in Beth’s trashcan. No, there was a pregnancy test box in the trashcan. But that had to mean there was a test. 

Drug stores didn’t sell empty boxes. Beth was pregnant. Did she think she was pregnant? Obviously she thought she was if she bought the test. But was she? If she was then when did she plan to tell him? 

What were they going to do? Oh wow, she was having his baby…could be having his baby. Hotch wanted to rush back into the bathroom and go through every wad of paper in the can until he had his answer. He just had to know.

“Aaron, are you alright up there?”

“I'm coming. I'm coming, I'm sorry.”

“Its OK, I'm just a little hungry down here.” Beth laughed. “Don’t forget to grab a tee shirt. There's some in the top drawer.”

It was only in that moment that Hotch realized he was topless. Three years after George Foyet’s attack and he still wasn’t used to going without a shirt. Yet there he sat on her bed, the bed they shared on many occasions, holding his dirty tee shirt in a bag. When Hotch’s mind cleared, as much as it could given the situation, he knew he’d been thinking about the odds of their child having dimples. But when he got downstairs he was dressed in a new tee shirt and wearing his neutral face.

“Are you alright?” 

“I'm fine, and all cleaned up.”

“Here, I’ll get rid of that.” she put the plastic bag in the trash as he redressed in his shirt and tie. 

Hotch slipped into his jacket while Beth kissed the dog and told her they’d be back. They were coming back together, which made him happy. Spending nights together always made the next day better. They couldn’t do it often since Hotch was in the field working or home with Jack. But Jack was on vacation with his Aunt and Uncle this week. 

And work hadn't called him away yet. A father of two…how would he pull that off? He and Beth had to get married. Wait, what if she didn’t want to get married? Hotch knew she wanted children but they'd never even indirectly discussed marriage. 

Beth was an independent woman. Who knew if she wanted to be tied down with an absentee husband, a baby, and a stepson? That was asking a lot of even the most amazing person. And it wasn’t 1950, pregnancy didn’t equal marriage anymore. The thought of them living apart with a child was very unappealing to him. 

The thought of living apart period was unappealing these days. Hotch just didn’t want to get too far ahead of himself yet. They hadn't even made it to their one year anniversary. Not that he saw anything preventing them from doing so. They wanted to be together and stay that way.

“I'm fine.” He said, opening the passenger door of his truck for her.

“I didn’t ask you if you were alright Aaron.”

“Didn’t you?”

“Well I did earlier but not just now.” Beth had a strange look on her face but still smiled. “You answered me the first time.”

“OK.” He nodded. “Well it’s still true.”

“Good to know.” She gave him another kiss before climbing into the truck. 

He was acting a little strange but Beth knew work kept his mind running in a million directions at once. She was glad to have his attention tonight but wasn’t sure if it would be undivided. No matter, she was still going to make sure they made the most of all of it. Beth might have to blow his mind to make him focus. She was a talented woman…it could be done.

***

“How have you been feeling lately?”

Hotch asked as they sat in Café in Georgetown. The couple sat at a small table by the window watching the rain fall. They’d gone to Siroc downtown for dinner. The food was as delicious as always but it wasn’t the best atmosphere for intimate conversation. Hotch would never call the place raucous but Café was a bit more to his liking. 

They could have dessert, coffee, or tea, hold hands, and enjoy the adult contemporary music played at a respectable level. This was not the coffeehouse filled with laptops, iSomething or others, and hipsters. It was one of the handful of comfy, cozy places that the couple had made their own. Funny that most revolved around coffee and/or dessert.

“How have I been feeling?” Beth repeated the question. “Well to be honest, a little run down. I know it’s the weather, humidity has never quite agreed with me. And we've been having the heatwave spurts so I have been a little run down. But I'm alright.”

“Are you sure?”

“Mmm hmm,” Beth nodded as she sipped her caramel latte. It went perfectly with her apple crisp. “How are you?”

“I found the pregnancy test in your trashcan.” The words tumbled out of his mouth before he could stop them. “It wasn’t that I was going through your trashcan because I would never do that. I just dropped it on the floor and had to pick everything up. There was a pregnancy test in there. It just shocked me because…well, it’s a pregnancy test.”

“It was negative, Aaron.”

“I didn’t see the test, I just saw the box.”

“It was negative.” Beth said it again.

“You thought you were pregnant?” he asked.

“No…maybe. This is uncomfortable. While I can never say with certainty where our conversations will turn, and that’s something I love about talking to you, I never thought we’d be talking about this tonight. I’m usually the one who puts the hot lights on you, Hotchner. So this is that karma thing I've heard so much about?”

“I didn’t mean to put you on the spot. But you should know that you can share anything with me. I especially want you to share things like this. You don’t have to go through that alone.”

“Actually I did because I just peed on a stick.” She managed a smile. “Believe me, I'm not making light of it, Aaron. If the test were positive you would've been the first person I told. But I don’t think it’s fair to discuss something that might not be. I was a little concerned, I took the test to be sure, and the test was negative.”

“OK.” Hotch nodded.

“My ovaries are fine. I know that’s a weird statement to come out with in the middle of dessert but um…I probably can't carry a child to term. There's problems with my uterine wall, it’s too thin and can't, conceivably, carry a child to full term. I had a couple of miscarriages years ago.”

“I’m sorry Beth.” He took her hand in his, held it to his lips. “I didn’t mean to bring that up.”

“You didn’t; I did. It’s just the truth Aaron and sometimes yes, the truth hurts.”

“So we would adopt?” he asked. “I mean…”

“If the time is right then adoption is a viable choice, yes. We don’t have to talk about it right now.”

“We’re not getting any younger.” 

“I know.” She squeezed his hand. “I love you, you know that.”

“You told me that once. But you were so drunk I didn’t believe you.” Hotch’s dimples came out in full force with his smile.

“Cute.” Beth laughed. She sipped her coffee.

“I love you too, Beth. And I do want to talk about things, even the uncomfortable things.”

“Uncomfortable things for me or for you?”

“I want to talk about uncomfortable things for both of us. I don’t want them to be so uncomfortable anymore. I want to share.”

“I want to know.” She said.

“I was never really sure if I wanted children.” Hotch said. “I was scared when Haley and I had Jack. I wasn’t sure what kind of father I would be. My father…yeah.” he cleared his throat. “He was a workaholic womanizer with a temper. 

“He was a brilliant man but troubled and my childhood wasn’t always easy. But I wouldn’t trade a second with my son for anything. I don’t know what the future holds for what he thinks of me but I love being his father. I love being a father.”

“I want to be a mother.”

“I know that.”

“So when we've been together a little longer we’ll revisit this.” Beth said.

“I’ll make a note of it.”

She nodded, letting go of his hand and focusing on dessert. They weren't kids having a whirlwind affair. They were in their 30s and 40s; married, divorced, and widowed. These conversations were the norm for most people in their situation. Beth just didn’t want to rush. 

She didn’t want to rush Aaron either. She was already sure this relationship was what she wanted. She would be very happy as Aaron Hotchner’s wife. But it was going to take time. There were things they needed to work out, as simple as schedules and as complicated as serial killers. 

She thought the baby steps might be over but there were still areas where the treading needed to be light. That was for both of them. Beth hadn't told Aaron everything about her life. She might never do that. 

But there were things she wanted to share. These things couldn’t be dropped like bombs over coffee or a movie. They would tell each other when the time was right. And as wonderful as this was, nine months wasn’t time. Even if Beth was having the proposal dream that didn’t mean it was time.

“I’ll give you a bite of my dessert if you give me a bite of yours.” Hotch said.

“Ooh yeah,” she smiled. “I've been eyeing that peach pie for a while now.”

“I knew it. I got the extra whipped cream just for you.”

“So on the count of three we dive in?” she asked.

“I'm ready if you are.”

“Hold my hand.” Beth gave him the one not holding the fork and Hotch slipped his fingers between hers. “Now I'm ready. We’ll count together.”

“1, 2, 3…”

***


End file.
